Wiley Rein’s Maureen Thorson Honored as “Rising Star” By Law360

April 17, 2015

Maureen E. Thorson, a standout partner in Wiley Rein’s preeminent International Trade Practice, was profiled as a 2015 “Rising Star” by Law360, which named her one of the nation’s top four international trade attorneys under 40.

Ms. Thorson, a licensed customs broker, specializes in petitioner-side antidumping and countervailing duty litigation and customs law. Her impressive work includes advocating for domestic sawblade manufacturers and helping handle all trade litigation and trade policy for one of the largest U.S. steel producers, the publication noted in an April 16 article.

In an interview with Law360, Ms. Thorson said she first became interested in international trade issues after the protests surrounding the 1999 World Trade Organization conference in Seattle. After earning her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, she clerked for the Honorable Donald C. Pogue of the U.S. Court of International Trade. 

“It really was the experience in that two-year clerkship that confirmed my desire to practice in the international trade area and gave me a little bit of actual, real world experience,” she said. “I gained an insight into how the court works and how international trade litigation proceeds in the court.”

In addition to her work on behalf of U.S. sawblade and steel manufacturers, Ms. Thorson has advocated for the domestic rebar industry; helped prepare successful customs compliance programs, prior disclosures, and protests for clients with a multinational manufacturing base; and assisted companies in diverse industries—including metals, tools, and office products—with U.S. Customs and Border Protection-focused assessments and in obtaining ruling letters and statistical tariff breakouts.

Ms. Thorson also teaches seminars at various ports of entry for Customs and Border Protection officials and customs brokers. The training focuses on antidumping and countervailing duty orders, as well as the classification of steel imports.

“That gives us the opportunity to better our relationship with customs, with the individual ports, and with people on the front lines of enforcing antidumping and countervailing duty orders and making sure that after all the hard work goes into investigating those antidumping and countervailing duty petitions, that at the end of the day the orders are effective,” she said.

For younger lawyers seeking the type of success Ms. Thorson has achieved, she said her advice would be to bring something different to a firm.

“If you are the seventh lawyer doing exactly the same thing, your chances of making partner are that much reduced,” she said. “When firms are looking for new partners, they look for somebody who’s already really trying to build out a practice and to create the conditions for new business to develop.”

Law360’s profile of Ms. Thorson can be found here (subscription required).